Dulmont Magnum
Encyclopedia
The Dulmont Magnum was an early laptop
computer
designed and marketed by Dulmison Pty Ltd in Australia
in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Magnum was also known internationally as the Kookaburra, and was on the market from 1982 to 1986. The company found itself undercapitalized as it sought to enter the international market and faced increased competition as other laptops hit the market. It was taken over twice, with the international marketing as "Kookaburra" being undertaken by Time Office Computers.
The Magnum was one of the first computers to use the 16-bit
Intel 80186
processor, and was sold in versions with 96K to 256K of RAM
, and inbuilt LCD screens from 8x80 to 25x80 characters. It had a word processor, spreadsheet, telecommunications, file manager, and appointment programs burned into ROM
. It also featured dual 128K ROM cartridge slots, which could be used for optional software including BASIC
or assembler programming support, as well as serial and parallel modem and printer ports. The initial 1982 release included an 8x80 character LCD screen, whilst the 1984 to 1985 international release had a 16x80 display, and the final 1985-6 version had a 25x80 display and for international marketing purposes was given the new name "Kookaburra". Earlier versions were able to be upgraded to the larger displays, and dual 8" disk drive and memory expansion box provided access to 256,256 byte floppy disks and up to 32KB of dynamic RAM. It was also possible to attach a 10MB hard disk.
The Magnum was arguably the world's first laptop computer, being enabled by a custom power management integrated circuit (ASIC
) developed at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in the late 1970s by John Blair, who led the Dulmont Magnum design team at Dulmison in 1979-80. The Magnum was marketed in Australia from 1981 to early 1986, thus being developed and launched in parallel with the development of the Grid Compass
.
The Magnum laptop computer is similar to the Hewlett Packard HP 110
and the Sharp PC-5000
. It is the only Australian produced laptop personal computer, but did not survive long on the international market once industry players like HP, Sharp and Sanyo entered the market. One key disadvantage of both the Dulmont Magnum [Kookaburra] and the Grid Compass is that they were developed prior to the IBM PC and were never upgraded to full IBM compatibility, using an early version of MS-DOS (latest version used was 2.1). A second disadvantage of the Magnum was the lack of integral permanent storage other than the ROM/EPROM that was available through the module cartridge slots, or the separate expansion box. In particular, it's soon-to-arrive competitors including the Grid Compass
, made use of the new Bubble Memory
technology to provide non-volatile memory.
In 1985, the Magnum retailed for A$2995 for a 96K model, or $4100 for a 256K model, according to the June 1985 issue of "Just Computer".
Laptop
A laptop, also called a notebook, is a personal computer for mobile use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device and speakers into a single unit...
computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
designed and marketed by Dulmison Pty Ltd in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Magnum was also known internationally as the Kookaburra, and was on the market from 1982 to 1986. The company found itself undercapitalized as it sought to enter the international market and faced increased competition as other laptops hit the market. It was taken over twice, with the international marketing as "Kookaburra" being undertaken by Time Office Computers.
The Magnum was one of the first computers to use the 16-bit
16-bit
-16-bit architecture:The HP BPC, introduced in 1975, was the world's first 16-bit microprocessor. Prominent 16-bit processors include the PDP-11, Intel 8086, Intel 80286 and the WDC 65C816. The Intel 8088 was program-compatible with the Intel 8086, and was 16-bit in that its registers were 16...
Intel 80186
Intel 80186
The 80188 is a version with an 8-bit external data bus, instead of 16-bit. This makes it less expensive to connect to peripherals. The 80188 is otherwise very similar to the 80186. It has a throughput of 1 million instructions per second....
processor, and was sold in versions with 96K to 256K of RAM
Ram
-Animals:*Ram, an uncastrated male sheep*Ram cichlid, a species of freshwater fish endemic to Colombia and Venezuela-Military:*Battering ram*Ramming, a military tactic in which one vehicle runs into another...
, and inbuilt LCD screens from 8x80 to 25x80 characters. It had a word processor, spreadsheet, telecommunications, file manager, and appointment programs burned into ROM
Read-only memory
Read-only memory is a class of storage medium used in computers and other electronic devices. Data stored in ROM cannot be modified, or can be modified only slowly or with difficulty, so it is mainly used to distribute firmware .In its strictest sense, ROM refers only...
. It also featured dual 128K ROM cartridge slots, which could be used for optional software including BASIC
BASIC
BASIC is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages whose design philosophy emphasizes ease of use - the name is an acronym from Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code....
or assembler programming support, as well as serial and parallel modem and printer ports. The initial 1982 release included an 8x80 character LCD screen, whilst the 1984 to 1985 international release had a 16x80 display, and the final 1985-6 version had a 25x80 display and for international marketing purposes was given the new name "Kookaburra". Earlier versions were able to be upgraded to the larger displays, and dual 8" disk drive and memory expansion box provided access to 256,256 byte floppy disks and up to 32KB of dynamic RAM. It was also possible to attach a 10MB hard disk.
The Magnum was arguably the world's first laptop computer, being enabled by a custom power management integrated circuit (ASIC
ASIC
ASIC may refer to:* Application-specific integrated circuit, an integrated circuit developed for a particular use, as opposed to a customised general-purpose device.* ASIC programming language, a dialect of BASIC...
) developed at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in the late 1970s by John Blair, who led the Dulmont Magnum design team at Dulmison in 1979-80. The Magnum was marketed in Australia from 1981 to early 1986, thus being developed and launched in parallel with the development of the Grid Compass
GRiD Compass
The Grid Compass was one of the first laptop computers when the initial model was introduced in April 1982 ....
.
The Magnum laptop computer is similar to the Hewlett Packard HP 110
HP 110
The Hewlett-Packard HP 110 was an MS-DOS compatible portable computer released in 1984. It used a Harris with of RAM. It had a 80 character by 16 line liquid crystal display, ran MS-DOS 2.11 in ROM, and had the application programs MemoMaker, Terminal Emulator and Lotus 123 in ROM...
and the Sharp PC-5000
Sharp PC-5000
The Sharp PC-5000 was a pioneering laptop computer, announced by Sharp Corporation of Japan in 1983. Like the GRiD Compass, which preceded it, and its contemporary the Gavilan SC, it employed a clamshell design in which the display closes over the keyboard....
. It is the only Australian produced laptop personal computer, but did not survive long on the international market once industry players like HP, Sharp and Sanyo entered the market. One key disadvantage of both the Dulmont Magnum [Kookaburra] and the Grid Compass is that they were developed prior to the IBM PC and were never upgraded to full IBM compatibility, using an early version of MS-DOS (latest version used was 2.1). A second disadvantage of the Magnum was the lack of integral permanent storage other than the ROM/EPROM that was available through the module cartridge slots, or the separate expansion box. In particular, it's soon-to-arrive competitors including the Grid Compass
GRiD Compass
The Grid Compass was one of the first laptop computers when the initial model was introduced in April 1982 ....
, made use of the new Bubble Memory
Bubble memory
Bubble memory is a type of non-volatile computer memory that uses a thin film of a magnetic material to hold small magnetized areas, known as bubbles or domains, each storing one bit of data...
technology to provide non-volatile memory.
In 1985, the Magnum retailed for A$2995 for a 96K model, or $4100 for a 256K model, according to the June 1985 issue of "Just Computer".